Early history
In 1959, Nader was admitted to the bar and began practice as a lawyer in Hartford, Connecticut, while also lecturing at the University of Hartford and traveling to the Soviet Union, Chile, and Cuba, where he filed dispatches for the Christian Science Monitor and The Nation.[9] In 1964, he moved to Washington, D.C., taking a position as a consultant to Assistant Secretary of Labor Daniel Patrick Moynihan.[15]
Unsafe at Any Speed
Nader gained national attention with the 1965 publication of his journalistic exposé Unsafe at Any Speed. The book, critical of the automotive industry, argued that many American automobiles were generally unsafe to operate. For the book, Nader researched case files from more than a hundred lawsuits then pending against General Motors' Chevrolet Corvair to support his assertions.[16]
The book became an immediate bestseller, but also prompted a backlash from General Motors (GM), which attempted to discredit Nader. GM tapped Nader's phone in an attempt to obtain salacious information and, when that failed, GM hired prostitutes in an attempt to catch him in a compromising situation.[17][18] Nader, by then working as an unpaid consultant to United States Senator Abe Ribicoff, reported to the senator that he suspected he was being followed. Ribicoff convened an inquiry that called GM CEO James Roche who admitted, when placed under oath, that the company had hired a private detective agency to investigate Nader. Nader sued GM for invasion of privacy, settling the case for $425,000 and using the proceeds to found the activist organization known as the Center for the Study of Responsive Law.[9][19]
A year following the publication of Unsafe at Any Speed, Congress unanimously enacted the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. Speaker of the United States House of Representatives John William McCormack said the passage of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act was brought about by the "crusading spirit of one individual who believed he could do something: Ralph Nader".[20]
"Nader's Raiders", Public Citizen and Center for Auto Safety
In 1968, Nader recruited seven volunteer law students, dubbed "Nader's Raiders" by the Washington press corps, to evaluate the efficacy and operation of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The group's ensuing report, which criticized the body as "ineffective" and "passive" led to an American Bar Association investigation of the FTC. Based on the results of that second study, Richard Nixon revitalized the agency and sent it on a path of vigorous consumer protection and antitrust enforcement for the rest of the 1970s.[21]
Nader's Raiders became involved in such issues as nuclear safety, international trade, regulation of insecticides, meat processing, pension reform, land use, and banking.[2]
Following the publication of the report, Nader founded the watchdog group Public Citizen in 1971 to engage in public interest lobbying and activism on issues of consumer rights.[22] He also served on its board of directors until 1980.[23]
1970s–1990s
By the early 1970s Nader had established himself as a household name. In a critical memo written by Lewis Powell to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Powell warned business representatives that Nader "has become a legend in his own time and an idol of millions of Americans".[25]
Ralph Nader's name appeared in the press as a potential candidate for president for the first time in 1971, when he was offered the opportunity to run as the presidential candidate for the New Party, a progressive split-off from the Democratic Party. Chief among his advocates was author Gore Vidal, who touted a 1972 Nader presidential campaign in a front-page article in Esquire magazine in 1971.[26] Nader declined the advances.[27][28]
In 1973, Ralph Nader was plaintiff in the case against acting attorney general Robert Bork, who under orders of President Richard Nixon had fired special prosecutor
Presidential campaigns
1972
Ralph Nader's name appeared in the press as a potential candidate for president for the first time in 1971, when he was offered the opportunity to run as the presidential candidate for the New Party, a progressive split-off from the Democratic Party in 1972. Chief among his advocates was author Gore Vidal, who touted a 1972 Nader presidential campaign in a front-page article in Esquire magazine in 1971.[26] Psychologist Alan Rockway organized a "draft Ralph Nader for President" campaign in Florida on the New Party's behalf.[42] Nader declined their offer to run that year; the New Party ultimately joined with the People's Party in running Benjamin Spock in the 1972 presidential election.[27][28][43]
1972
Ralph Nader's name appeared in the press as a potential candidate for president for the first time in 1971, when he was offered the opportunity to run as the presidential candidate for the New Party, a progressive split-off from the Democratic Party in 1972. Chief among his advocates was author Gore Vidal, who touted a 1972 Nader presidential campaign in a front-page article in Esquire magazine in 1971.[26] Psychologist Alan Rockway organized a "draft Ralph Nader for President" campaign in Florida on the New Party's behalf.[42] Nader declined their offer to run that year; the New Party ultimately joined with the People's Party in running Benjamin Spock in the 1972 presidential election.[27][28][43] Spock had hoped Nader in particular would run, getting "some of the loudest applause of the evening" when mentioning him at the University of Alabama
1980
In the 1980 presidential election, the progressive-oriented Citizens Party approached Nader with the prospect of running as their presidential nominee. Nader declined their offer, stating "I will never run for president".[47] The party ended up nominating biologist Barry Commoner instead.[48]
1992
Nader stood in as a write-in for "none of the above" in both the 1992 New Hampshire Democratic and Republican primaries[49] and received 3,054 of the 170,333 Democratic votes and 3,258 of the 177,970 Republican votes cast.[50] He was also a candidate in the 1992 Massachusetts Democratic primary.[51]
1996
Nader was drafted as a candidate for President of the United States on the Green Party ticket during the 1996 presidential election. He was not formally nominated by the Green Party USA, which was, at the time, the largest national Green group; instead he was nominated independently by various state Green parties (in some states, he appeared on the ballot as an independent). However, many activists in the Green Party USA worked actively to campaign for Nader that year. Nader qualified for ballot status in 22 states,[52] garnering 685,297 votes or 0.71% of the popular vote (fourth place overall),[53] although the effort did make significant organizational gains for the party. He refused to raise or spend more than $5,000 on his campaign,[54] presumably to avoid meeting the threshold for Federal Election Commission reporting requirements.[55] The unofficial Draft Nader committee could (and did) spend more than that, but the committee was legally prevented from coordinating in any way with Nader himself.
Nader received some criticism from gay rights
2000
In the 2006 documentary An Unreasonable Man, Nader described how he was unable to get the views of his public-interest groups heard in Washington, even by the Clinton Administration. Nader cited this as one of the primary reasons why he decided to actively run in the 2000 election as candidate of the Green Party, which had been formed in the wake of his 1996 campaign.[59][60]
In June 2000, The Association of State Green Parties (ASGP) organized the national nominating convention that took place in Denver, Colorado, at which Green Party delegates nominated Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke to be their party's candidates for president and vice president.[61][62]
On July 9, the Vermont Progressive Party nominated Nader, giving him ballot access in the state.[63]
Spoiler controversy
In the 2000 presidential election in Florida, George W. Bush defeated Al Gore by 537 votes. Nader received 97,421 votes, which led to claims that he was responsible for Gore's defeat. Nader disputes that he helped Bush win.[74][75][76] A 2003 study found that Nader's candidacy was a critical factor in Bush's victory.[77] A 2004 study found that Nader voters had the profile of likely voters with a preference for Democratic candidates.[78] They were therefore likely to vote for Gore over Bush in the absence of Nader's candidacy.[78]
A study by Harvard Professor B. C. Burden in 2005 claimed Nader did not employ a spoiler strategy, but still "play a pivotal role in determining who would become president following the 2000 election", saying:
2004
Nader announced on December 23, 2003, that he would not seek the Green Party's nomination for president in 2004, but did not rule out running as an independent candidate.[83]
Ralph Nader and Democratic candidate John Kerry held a widely publicized meeting early in the 2004 presidential campaign. Nader said that John Kerry wanted to work to win Nader's support and the support of Nader's voters, prompting Nader to provide Kerry more than 20 pages of issues that he felt were important. According to Nader, he asked John Kerry to choose any three of the issues and highlight them in his campaign; should Kerry meet these conditions Nader would not contest the election. On February 22, 2004, having not heard back from Kerry, Nader announced that he would run for president as an independent.[84]
Due to concerns about a possible spoiler effect, many Democrats urged Nader to abandon his 2004 candidacy. The chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Terry McAuliffe, stated that Nader had a "distinguished career, fighting for working families", and that McAuliffe "would hate to see part of his legacy being that he got us eight years of George Bush". Theresa Amato, Nader's national campaign manager in 2000 and 2004, later alleged that McAuliffe offered to pay off Nader if he would not campaign in certain states, an allegation confirmed by Nader and undisputed by McAuliffe.[85]
2008
In February 2007, Nader criticized Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton as "a panderer and a flatterer", later describing her as someone who had "no political fortitude".[87] During a February 2008 appearance on Meet the Press, Nader announced his intention to run for president as an independent, later naming Matt Gonzalez as his running-mate.[88] Nader was endorsed by Howard Zinn, Jesse Ventura, Justin Jeffre, Tom Morello, Val Kilmer, Rocky Anderson, James Abourezk, Patti Smith, and Jello Biafra. The Nader campaign raised $4.3 million in campaign funds, primarily from small, individual donations. Nader/Gonzalez earned 738,475 votes and a third-place finish in the 2008 United States presidential election.[89]
Congressional Accountability Project
Nader founded the Congressional Accountability Project to "oppose corruption in the U. S. Congress".[91]
Later activities
Nader condemned the 2011 military intervention in Libya.[92] He branded President Barack Obama as a "war criminal"[93] and called for his impeachment.[94]
In June 2019, Nader, who lost his 24-year-old grandniece in the Ethiopian Airlines crash,[95] claimed that the Boeing 737 Max "must never fly again... it's not a matter of software. It's a matter of structural design defect: the plane's engines are too much for the traditional fuselage". Nader also called for Boeing top leaders to resign and said that the Federal Aviation Administration "has been in the pockets of the Boeing company for years".[96]
D.C. Library Renaissance Project
In 2002, Nader founded the D.C. Library Renaissance Project, which has sought to halt the development of the West End Library in Washington, D.C., alleging that it "violated affordable housing guidelines, undervalued the land, and didn't conform to the city's Comprehensive Plan".[98] The legal obstacles presented by the Library Renaissance Project have cost the D.C. government over one million dollars in legal fees.[99] Nader has opposed the privatized development of D.C. libraries despite community support, citing a lack of oversight and competitive bidding process.[100]
Only the Super Rich Can Save Us
In 2009, Nader published his first work of fiction, Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!. Many of the characters were fictionalized versions of real-life persons including Ted Turner and Warren Buffett. The book's principal villain, a "conservative evil genius" named Brovar Dortwist, represents Grover Norquist. According to Norquist, Nader had called him prior to the book's publication and said he "wouldn't be too unhappy, because the character was principled".[101]
The novel met with mixed reviews with The Wall Street Journal noting that the book "reads less like a novel ... than a dream journal" with a plot that victoriously concludes with "American society thoroughly Naderized", though The Globe and Mail called it "a powerful idea by the perfect person at a fortuitous time".[102][103]
Nader also branched out into fiction with the fable collection Animal Envy in 2016.
2012 debate moderator
During the 2012 United States presidential election, Nader moderated a debate for third-party candidates at Washington, D.C.'s Busboys and Poets. The debate was attended by Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, Libertarian Gary Johnson, Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party and Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode. He later moderated a similar debate in a studio appearance broadcast by Russia Today.[105]
Ralph Nader Radio Hour
Since March 2014, Nader has co-hosted the weekly Ralph Nader Radio Hour,[106] produced at KPFK-FM in Los Angeles and distributed via the Pacifica Radio Network. The program features "interviews with some of the nation's most influential movers and shakers" and discussion of current events. Nader's co-hosts are Steve Skrovan and David Feldman.[107]
American Museum of Tort Law
In 2015, after a decade planning, Nader founded the American Museum of Tort Law in Winsted, Connecticut. The opening ceremonies were emceed by Phil Donahue. Nader personally donated $150,000 to the establishment of the museum, which was sited on two parcels of land rezoned by the town of Winsted to host it. At the time of its opening, some expressed skepticism that a museum dedicated to tort would have much interest to the general public, though Nader responded that he was "astounded how a country can go over 200 years and not have a law museum".[108]
Nader unsuccessfully sought a seat on the Harvard University Board of Overseers in 2016 as part of an insurgent candidate slate operating under the name "Free Harvard, Fair Harvard" which called for increased transparency by the university as to how it made athletic and legacy admissions decisions.[109] In February of that year, while noting that he would not vote for him personally, he expressed support for Donald Trump making a third-party run for president, saying that such a move might help break-up the two party system.[110]
Newspapers
Following the closure of The Winsted Journal in 2017, Nader provided the first funds for The Winsted Phoenix in 2018 and then pulled backing. The newspaper folded in 2021.[111] A year later, Nader announced he was financially backing the creation of another newspaper in his hometown called the Winsted Citizen and provided $15,000 for the first monthly issue printed February 2023.[112][113]
A month later it was reported Nader failed to provide funding as initially promised for the paper's second edition. He had agreed to cover 75% of the cost, with the newspaper covering the rest. However, the money had not been delivered by the time of the second edition's printing. Instead, at that time Nader offered to give a $8,000 loan, which the newspaper declined to accept.[114]
In April 2022, Nader founded the print newspaper Capitol Hill Citizen. According to Politico, the publication's coverage centers on issues important to Nader, such as the growth of corporate influence on the federal government, corruption among lawmakers and the follies and failures of the mainstream political media.
